I blog about the ecology and natural history of wildflowers in the eastern United States. Plants currently in bloom are usually discussed, with an accompanying photograph or two.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Cranefly Orchid (Tipularia discolor): A wintergreen orchid

This
relatively common orchid in moist-to-dry forests throughout much of South
Carolina has an unusual life cycle in that it is wintergreen and summer deciduous.
Its dark green 2-4 inch leaves with a purple underside emerge from a small corm
(underground food storage organ) in fall when most other deciduous plants are
beginning to drop their leaves and go dormant. Then, in spring, when most other
deciduous plants are producing new leaves and just beginning their growing
season, the leaves of cranefly orchid wither and disappear.

Its slender flower
stalks and purplish-green to yellowish-brown flowers bloom in summer when the
plant is leafless. Because the flowers blend in with the leaf litter on the
forest floor, they are easily overlooked by wildflower enthusiasts, but are somehow
found by its pollinators – night flying moths! Hikers are most likely to notice
cranefly orchid in winter when its dark green to purple leaves stand out
against the mostly grayish brown forest floor. Worldwide, there are three
species of Tipularia – one in the
eastern United States, one in Japan, and a third in the Himalayas.